Horse riders will soon be able to
follow the trail of France's most famous Musketeer, d'Artagnan, under a
project launched Sunday in the town where he was born 400 years ago.

Due to open in 2017, the "D'Artagnan European Route" will stretch from
his home town of Lupiac in southwestern France to Maastrich in the
Netherlands, where he died during a siege in 1673, the organisers said.

The launch coincided with the annual D'Artagnan Festival in Lupiac, where he was born in 1615.

Hundreds of locals dressed up in the traditional plumed hats and cloaks
to re-enact duels and battles and a new 3.5-metre (11.5-feet) statue was inaugurated.